Yoon's Language in Front of Moon's Residence 'Cursing Protest' Calls for "Lawful Action"... Conflict, Not Harmony

Yoon: "Even protests at the Presidential Office are permitted"
Moon's Residence 'Abusive Protest' Government Response Dismissed
On 'Prosecutor-Biased Appointments' Criticism: "In the Past, Minbyun Dominated"
Political Concerns Over "Didn't You Do the Same?" Rhetoric

President Yoon Suk-yeol is answering questions from reporters as he arrives at the Yongsan Presidential Office building on the morning of the 7th. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A counter-protest rally is scheduled to be held in front of President Yoon Suk-yeol's residence in response to the 'verbal abuse protest' in front of former President Moon Jae-in's private residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam. Since President Yoon emphasized the 'principle of law' by saying, "Even the presidential office allows protests," the controversy surrounding the protests seems to be escalating into a conflict between political camps.

During the last presidential election, the progressive-leaning YouTube channel 'Seoul's Voice,' whose representative Baek Eun-jong disclosed the so-called '7-hour recording' of First Lady Kim Geon-hee, recently announced plans to hold a rally near Acrovista in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where President Yoon's residence is located.

At a related press conference, Representative Baek said, "The president is not only failing to actively restrain the heinous political retaliation involving verbal abuse and noise terrorism but is also condoning and supporting their illegal behavior, thereby destroying democratic constitutional governance." He added, "This protest will continue until Yoon Suk-yeol apologizes for the Yangsan protest and the Yangsan protest is completely halted." Just as former President Moon and Yangsan residents suffer from the verbal abuse and loud protests, they intend to do the same toward President Yoon.

Earlier, on the 7th, when asked about the protest in front of former President Moon's residence during his commute to the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, President Yoon replied, "Even the presidential office allows protests," adding, "Everything will be done according to the law." This response drew a line against opposition parties' demands that the government directly intervene to find solutions to curb the protests. The Democratic Party of Korea criticized President Yoon for neglecting hateful protests, while some argued that comparing the nature of protests targeting a sitting president and a former president is inappropriate.

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop expressed regret over President Yoon's remarks on his Facebook, saying, "Wouldn't it have been better if he had at least offered words of consolation to former President Moon, who is experiencing discomfort?" He added, "Although local residents are also complaining of damage, above all, holding such radical protests in front of a former president's residence does not help our society move toward unity."

President Yoon's recent response to criticism regarding the 'overrepresentation of prosecutors' in key government positions also sparked controversy. President Yoon said, "In the past, weren't the people from Minbyun (Korean Public Interest Lawyers Group) dominating?" He implied that the current administration's appointments are not problematic by comparing them to the personnel policies of the Moon Jae-in government.

Criticism is emerging that President Yoon's indirect targeting of the opposing camp through such rhetoric only fuels conflict. Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun pointed out, "Is Minbyun some kind of state or power institution? If he wants to be different from the previous government, he should just do so, but saying 'the previous government did this, so I will do it too' is a simplistic approach."

Former People Power Party Vision Strategy Office chief Kim Geun-sik wrote on Facebook, "Responding by asking if the Moon administration 'didn't do more' essentially admits the same personnel bias as the Moon administration. The most avoidable rebuttal logic is the tit-for-tat comparison of 'you did it too.' Although the Moon administration was dominated by Minbyun, the politically winning rhetoric should be, 'We will never do that.'"